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Monday, April 15, 2013

Language Militants- Tea and Other Things They Hate

Brooklyn's very own DavidsTea in Park Slope

I don't know what Oprah Winfrey has to offer as a motivational speaker, but apparently many people believe it's substantial.
She packed the house at Montreal's Bell Centre last Thursday with tickets ranging from a $100 to an astounding $355.

During her presentation, she gave a shout out to a Montreal tea retailer, DAVIDsTEA which may well be on its way to becoming the next Canadian North American superstarà la Starbucks.

Well perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the retail newcomer is a neat hybrid that combines an expensive tea experience with related gift products.

After sending Oprah a loot bag of goodies, the company hit the jackpot with a priceless celebrity endorsement.

"Imagine, if you can, America’s most influential celebrity telling the world that she loves you and she loves your product.And all of this, at the low price of next-to-nothing.That’s
the shorthand version of what happened Thursday and Friday to David’s
Tea, a Montreal-based retailer of fine teas and tea-related products.Oprah Winfrey told a sold-out crowd at the Bell Centre Thursday night that David’s was her new favourite tea. Several times.It
was a shout-out that sent shivers down the spine of audience member
Melanie Barbusci, a David’s Tea employee heavily involved in the
public-relations coup.“We were so excited,” Barbusci said Friday,
admitting that she came close to hyperventilating several times just by
recalling the evening’s events for various media outlets.Oprah
mentioned Melanie by name from the Bell Centre stage, telling 15,000
frenzied fans that she had been delighted with the David’s Tea gift bag
sent to her hotel by the younger woman whose passion was tea.(For the few who don’t know, Oprah has a passion for people possessed of passion.)“It was just a great moment that I will definitely remember,” Barbusci said.If
that was not enough of a brouhaha for the tea retailer, on Friday Oprah
told her millions of followers on social media about her new favourite
tea, via Twitter and Instagram.All in all, David’s Tea “hit the jackpot,” marketing expert Demetrios Vakratsas concluded Friday.Read more

I hope this Montreal company does well, it has all the elements for success, a unique product that has a markup that would make a drug dealer blush, a young entrepreneur named David Segal who is backed by the solid management and financing provided by his uncle, veteran Canadian retailer HersheyHerschel Segal, founder of the legendary LE CHATEAU clothing chain.

Last month while driving through the tony Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope, I saw my first DAVIDsTEA outside of Canada. I've no doubt that the retailer will be successful in the high-falutin' neighborhood where $1,000 baby strollers are de rigueur and where shelling out $6 for a coffee is no big deal.
Despite hard times, there are plenty Park Slopes in the USA, neighborhoods where DAVIDsTEA can find success.

Build a unique or better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

This company has all the elements for success and can avoid the pitfalls of other Canadian retailers who expanded to the US, only to meet with disaster because they offered nothing new or innovative.

I'm reminded of this after checking out a Tim Hortons location, again in Brooklyn, behind the stately courthouse just off of the Brooklyn Bridge, in a dreary and unappetizing food court, offering that particular blend of low-priced pedestrian food, washed down with bland coffee, that has inexplicably made it a powerhouse in Canada.
To this bloggers mind, it's not a formula for success in a city where most street vendors can offer cheaper and better.

As the old song goes;

"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere… It's up to you New York, New York!"

So I'm happy for DAVIDsTEA's success and I hope that they keep their head office in Montreal, reminding Canada that our fair city, battered and bruised, remains the creative capital of Canada.

But like everything in Quebec, the dark side of language rears its ugly head and trumps economic and creative concerns.
DavidsTea has been castigated by the language militants as a bad corporate citizen because it doesn't have a French name.
For them, an English name is hard to take, but an English name on a retailer, born, bred and based in Quebec, is even harder to swallow, if you will allow me the pun.

Read Sophie Durocher's article in Le Journal de Montreal, where she tells readers that it may be okay for international American giants to keep their English name, but not for Quebec bred companies, who in her eyes have no right to trade under an English banner.

And so Davids Tea is on the wrong side of the language ledger, another insult to Quebec pasta-chasers who see one more betrayal in a paranoid world of Anglo persecution.

But why the big deal over a name? To paraphrase Shakespeare,"A tea by any other name would taste as sweet."

The Mario Beaulieus of Quebec drone on about the need for 'outsiders,' Anglos and Ethnics to respect Quebec's francophone majority and that for a retailer, having French employees, French signage, and otherwise all things French, is not enough.

To be blunt, that is just plain poppycock.

By that same logic, English and ethnic Quebec parents would be advised to give their offspring a French name in respect to the francophone majority..... What utter rubbish!
Since when and where in the world and in what country or jurisdiction is a name, in and of itself, insulting and disrespectful?

The campaign against English language signage and English store names has more to do with an attempt by language militants and separatists to create an altered reality, rather than any question of respect.

In removing English from public display, militants hope to persuade Quebecers that the English and Ethnic communities are irrelevant to the Quebec experience, like ants at a picnic, nothing more than a nuisance.

Like the mom who places her hands over her eyes and lyrically shouts "I CAN'T SEE YOU, I CAN'T SEE YOU!" to her toddler, the children's game is meaningful only to those with an infantile mind.

The old saying, 'Out of sight, out of mind,' is a most appropriate description of French language militants ploy to portray Quebec as a French only affair, despite the truth that it most certainly is not.

Removing English signs and store names from public display conveys the
fantastical message that the non-French elements of society are either
nonexistent, minor or irrelevant, and so, anything that serves to disrupt that fantasy must be attacked and destroyed, including DavidsTea.
And so it follows that militants don't want to see and don't want to hear of Quebec Anglo or Ethnic success, because it distorts the fictitious narrative.
Think I'm exaggerating?

While francophone Quebecers are infinitely familiar with iconic business names like, Peladeau, Bombardier, Coutu, Laliberté, and Demarais, how many have ever heard of Stroll, Jarislowsky, Azrieli, Adams, Bensadoun, Rossy and Miller, who are among Quebec's richest and most successful entrepreneurs, but decidedly not pur-laine. Link
And by the way, all of them made their fortunes in post Bill-101 Quebec, so let's not argue about colonialism.

Language militants aren't interested in the success of McGill university, Arcade Fire, Montreal bagels and smoked meat, because to them, they aren't representative of the real Quebec and if the Francophone public embraces them as their own...well, bilingualism wins.

That is why there's nary a mention of Quebec's latest success story, DAVIDsTEA, in the francophone press and that is why it's up to the Globe and Mail to report on this Montreal success story. Link

The complaints about English signage and names is an Orwellian voyage of the absurd, where a store name like 'REITMANS' irritates militants because it doesn't sound French while 'SIMON' is okay because it does, notwithstanding the fact that both stores are named after non-francophone founders.

Language militants have been demonizing English for so long that even people like Sophie Durocher have been brain-washed into making a distinction over a name.
She as well as all of us need to understand the underlining racist basis of the attacks.
Shame on all mainstream francophones who have fallen into the extremist trap of condemning a business based on a name rather than the measure of its service.

I can only imagine the outrage in Quebec if a journalist in Calgary or Toronto demanded in print that LE CHATEAU or CIRQUE DE SOLEIL be condemned because those companies refuse to modify their name, whilst operating in an English province, realistically, a scenario that is so nonsensical, it is beneath discussion.

Condemning businesses or individuals based on the linguistic, religious or ethnic basis of their name is behavior that is unbecoming and vulgar in a modern democratic society and should be condemned by every fair-minded person across all lines.

146 comments:

But it's for reasons such as this that I have again recently written to New York's Foreign Policy Association much like I did in your blog this past December.

I did so pointing out the ridicule you recently posted such as the Time magazine article that made Quebec again look like jackasses in front of the entire world, Hugo Shebbeare's impassioned address in the National Assembly recently, the perils of Jaime Rosenbluth among other asinine stories, but I did embellish that thankfully this nonsense is not happening in the rest of Canada, so I encouraged the FPA to simply bypass Quebec or suffer the consequences.

First of all, I want to say congrats to David's Tea. I used to work for "Hershey" Segal and he truly is one of the most easy-going men I ever met. Of course the racists he these guys...because success is in their blood, no matter what their racial/religious background might happen to be.

As for Sophie Durocher, I can't stand her. At least writers like Bock-Cote are "out of the closet" with the hatred of "outsiders" but Durocher actually tries to sugarcoat her disdain for the non pur-laines and pass herself off as the voice of reason.

BTW folks, if you have any details to add to this article, it would help: http://www.quebecinvestmentfacts.com/the-truth-about-andre-boisclair-quebecs-war-on-english/ so far we've got quite a few views and one of our faves, Jean Nimard, stopped in for a visit.

Jean Naimard`s reply is worth repeating here. Basically his reply is the same old crapola, boohoo we are poor because of big bad English and we don`t need no stinkin' investors!

"We really don’t care.

We have been left behind so much by the english who kept all the riches to themselves, leaving us in poverty.

We’re accustommed to be poor, and we would rather not have them invest here if it means that we’ll be treated like second class citizens (like the french are treated in Canada).

When you go somewhere, you follow the local laws, and the law says that one does business in french here.

Those who do not accept that are totally free to go invest somewhere else where they won’t be oppressed in speaking french!"

Left behind? Really? Why don`t you get off your lazy ass and start a business with your own blood, sweat and tears and stop crying to the government to remove all English from your poor little eyes, you jealous little weasel!

They don`t realize that comments like those just make them look like vengeful ignoramuses?

Someone on this blog once referred to them as professional victims, and each time you hear one of these weak-minded tools spew the whole "we're getting colonized" horseshit, just tell them they're just like everyone else.

There's nothing unique about collective whining.

Be sure to also remind them of the fine job they did of colonizing the natives.

So anything English means that we are colonizing them in 2013! We live and let live, go about our business, have kids, buy homes, start businesses, and it drives them crazy that we don`t pander to their demands. It's quite sickening.

Fair enough, but to be honest I really don't think that's a good way of going about it. I personally think that if we go down that path, we're only going to be hurting ourselves.

I don't think the hardcore separatists and language freaks care about investments, business, jobs, or the economy. To them, all those things are evil and I'm sure many of them associate those things with "dirty anglos". Less foreign investment just means less non-francophone business owners in this province, which is what they want.

The hardcore seppies don't mind if there are less or no jobs, they believe someone else should and will support them no matter what.I do mind however, I need my job so I can pay taxes so that lazy kids can get free tuition.

If you want to "help them", something I would suggest would be helping to push these already extremist-groups even more to the extreme. The more ridiculous they become, the more support they will lose. We need some "agent provocateurs" to goat these people on, and make them become even more insane.Go to PQ rallies and start "FLQ! FLQ! FLQ! chants. Send letters to Mario Beaulieu telling him how the internet is a danger to our precious language and culture. Be creative!The ideal outcome would be for them to start using violence once again, then everyone could see them for what they really are.

A small reminder: The separatists are a minority. Look at the last election results, and look at any polls for separation. This province belongs more to you and me than it does to them. Let's not destroy our province, let's get rid of these groups that are trying to destroy our province instead.

I'm not trying to sway the ideas and opinions of hardcore separatists...after all, anyone who believes economic health and job creation is a vital component of any society clearly should remain silent.

The point is to have regular Quebecois taxpayers (even some soft nationalists) take a look at the carnage caused by the virulent dogma coming from the separatist camp.

The point is for these regular citizens to say, "fuck, I'm sick of living in a province with so little jobs, the highest tax rate in North America, a decrepit infrastructure and an inferior class of public services."

That's the point.

That's why I love the premise of Dark Knight Rises.

Bane "gives" the city over to the plebes (read: criminals, bums and general low-lifes), who we could easily relate to hardcore separatists. After evicting the rich from their homes and "giving" the homes over to the plebes, what do the plebes do?

They party in the homes left behind by the rich, drink all their liquor and burn luxury items, never once giving thought to "what will be do when the liquor's done, the electricity in these mansion gets cut off and there's no more gas for the luxury cars?"

Nor have they thought of WHY would Bane just "give" them a whole city to play with.

Some seppies reading this comment will retort that I'm referring to a fantasy story line...but hey, when was the last time you heard of an economic powerhouse nation with no industry and no jobs?

Hey guys - both above are valid points but, sorry Quebecer, I think Resident in on the right track. This illusion that the seppies have created in the minds of their followers, that everything is for free, has to change and the only way to accomplish this is for us to freeze them out - this can only be accomplished if they are not able to access money and jobs freely as they do now without a single consequence e.g. in this area we have the crazy IF in full swing with not a thought in mind for the businesses nor the population that could not survive without Federal government jobs. Our whole area in Gatineau is supported by the jobs in the federal government that supports the whole economy here. If the seppies had their way and took all of Quebec out of Canada we would be in dire straights here. The homes would be vacated and left to the "Quebec banks" as at least half the population would leave as their jobs in the Federal Government would no longer exist for the people that reside here. The ones that will be left are like myself, a senior that has to depend on pensions that come from the contributions of all of Canada not just Quebec. Where would that leave me? I would have to vacate my home and live in a trailer somewhere on the Ontario side of the border as I could no longer count on the Old Age Pension that I receive from the Feds. What about my QPP which was transferred to the Quebec government because this is my province of residence? Could I still count on that from a new bankrupt country of Quebec? The businesses would close because there would be no one buying anything here any longer and even worse for restaurants and such as people would not have the money to go out for entertainment. Those are just some of the repercussions of such a move let alone the very real possibility of outright fights on the streets between the two factions (federalist vs separatist). The federal land (and there is lot's of it here) would have to be protected by soldiers on the streets and this could very well start terrorist activities trying to ensure that these lands and buildings remain part of a new country whereby the federalists would be protecting the land and buildings from being high jacked to a new country as it is their property, not Quebec's. This whole thing is a disaster in the making - the PQ would lie and tell all their followers that everything will settle down and not to worry but that wouldn't last for long as reality sets in. Our best best is to stop the economy right now by telling everyone not to invest, advising tourists not to come here and freeze everything in limbo - we're not far from that now anyway due to the ineptness of the PQ Government's ability to manage money and the collusion and graft that goes on at every level of government anyway. This is just pointing out the whole fallacy of their movement anyway. Something has to give and quickly or we will continue on our way to bankruptcy despite what we say - action is the way to prove it. Thank you again Resident for your on-going work on this project.

@Quebecker of Tree Stump"Go to PQ rallies and start "FLQ! FLQ! FLQ! chants. Send letters to Mario Beaulieu telling him how the internet is a danger to our precious language and culture. Be creative!The ideal outcome would be for them to start using violence once again, then everyone could see them for what they really are."

Good stuff! Or you could just go to one of those Mouvement Québec rallies where they walk around Montréal ranting against English store names and fake a seizure.

Quebecer of the Tree Stump said "Go to PQ rallies and start "FLQ! FLQ! FLQ! chants. Send letters to Mario Beaulieu telling him how the internet is a danger to our precious language and culture. Be creative!The ideal outcome would be for them to start using violence once again, then everyone could see them for what they really are."Let me get this straight. By discouraging foreign investment, you think it would only hurt the anglo/allo minority, but getting the seppies to use violence wouldn't hurt you guys? You'd rather have targeted acts of violence than risk losing your job? I'm having trouble understanding why that would be "idea".

You know it's really sad to read some of the comments on World.Time from these separatists - I really wonder what we're dealing with here. They make it sound as if the whole thing's a big game that they play on video. If the voting age for the next referendum is lowered to 16 these little snots could be responsible for wrecking our whole country and pushing us to violence. Again sad for democracy.

I wonder if these people (yes, I said "these people") have the "jewels" to go down to Kahnawake and talk colonization with the First Nations.

Even when I hear anglo CBC reporters for example, talk about what is and what isn't "quintessentially Canadian", (a label that was used ad nauseum when "panels" were discussing the firearm situation in the US.....supposedly it is quintessentailly Canadian to be "against firearms". Really? Besides my colossal annoyance at being told what is and what isn't "quintessentially Canadian", The First Nations tend to have a particular fondness for their rifles, and....well....you can't get more "native" then....the "natives" really.) I cringe.

FROM EDI wonder if any of the newscasters have asked the Prime Minister to comment on the TIME-WORLD article. I have found it's no use writing letters, you can't get past Peter Penashue who always answers the PM is aware of the situation. Which, if it's true makes him a coward or a believer in separatism. Perhaps he too would like to see us go down the tubes. Anyway, this not something a new party can fix. If the equality party gets four seats, they will be in English districts which, even though they may not split the vote is still four less seats for the Liberals. Exactly what cost us the last election. Ed.

Well Ed the PQ and Boisclair are doing themselves proud out there and I'm also sure that the PM would say "language, in the Canadian Constitution, is a provincial responsibility so I have nothing to say on the matter" - probably a verbatim comment. And he's right - I keep saying the constitution has to be amended to put a stop to this nonsense and especially to get rid of that damned "Notwithstanding" Clause which these undemocratic politicians can use at a whim to duck out from their responsibilities to the Canadian Government. Up to 4,000 comments on World.Time now and still going strong. This publicity is making these PQs look exactly like what they are: bigots, intolerant, ignorant, gross mis-managers and hatemongers against their own citizens in their own province.

Cutie, save your breath...and fingertips. I'm really disappointed you've decided to be afraid and not vote for a party that will represent you. The PLQ has proven time and time again they are not the party of the minorities. You were afraid when the FLQ terrorists were bombing mailboxes. You can't run scared. If you do, the bullies have won. Fait accompli

When 9/11 took place, I was working smack dab in downtown Toronto. Many people went home shocked somehow thinking we were next. I didn't move. It was most unlikely we'd be a target, and they would have had a hard time hitting the building I was in. It was between other taller buildings, and not the tallest in town anyway.

Forget about vote splitting. Vote for who will represent you, not to vote against the villains, of which they all are anyway, save Equality 2.0. The Anglo Quislings on the West side of Montreal are NOT there for you!

It’s not the first time the Quebec office in New York has removed negative comments from their propaganda page. Here’s an article called “PQ Office In New York Ashamed Of Their Own Language Laws?” regarding their removal of negative comments a few months ago:http://putbacktheflag.blogspot.ca/2012/12/pq-office-in-new-york-ashamed-of-their.html

Even though the New York office has since reposted the comments, it now appears that the Quebec Government office in London has now similarly removed any negative comments from their Facebook page, per the Time World comments, which by the way have now topped 4100 comments.

Meanwhile, the offices in Boston and New York posted messages intended for “Quebecers and Canadians” affected by today’s tragic events, subtly trying to imply a difference, unlike the offices in Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago did.

Then the PQ has the gall to complain about duplication of efforts! With the Quebec government claiming empty pockets for health, education (including for free tuition, as the sucked-in red-square students discovered) and infrastructure, somehow Quebec still manages to cough up enough money to pay all these useless duplicate offices.

Ed - I find your statement very sad - Do you not have enough faith in the Liberal Party which is supposed to be "our" party vs "their" party, to vote with the Equality Party on any matters protecting federalists in this province? If the four elected refuse to vote with the liberals on any matter you can be sure that it will be a matter that will hurt our cause. If you can't count on them (the liberals) to do that then deep down you really know that they are not "our" party. Even if they do win 4 seats (the Equality Party), I KNOW they represent our points of view (mainly) which is more than I can say for the liberals. That is simply why they must be our choice come the next election!

FROM EDCutie, I'm sure the Liberals and the Equality party members can work together. Just like the Liberals and the CAQ, but due to a lack of seats for either one THE PARTY QUEBECOIS IS IN POWER. They are still running us broke and making lives miserable. This is what vote splitting did. Are you enjoying it? Will you enjoy it for 4 more years. Ed

If you're so sure that the liberals are going to change anything AT ALL in this stinking place Ed please vote for them as you wish. You and I are only two votes out of possibly 5-6M so to pick this discussion to death is accomplishing nothing. In a democracy we can vote for whom we wish - that is all. I keep saying that the Equality Party have done their research and will NOT pose any kind of threat to the balance of power but you do not believe that - that's fine my friend. Believe what you wish but I will vote for the Equality Party in my riding if they run a candidate because I do not want the liberals to keep playing games with our votes and hopefully the members elected from the Equality Party can at least ensure that they can do no further damage to us as they have done in the past. This should not, and does not, interfere with either one of us in any way. Just relax and do what you think is right come the next election and I shall do the same. I'm glad you're feeling better.

The names of multinationals, that's one thing? A few months ago, the names of the multinationals were not just "one thing", they were the thing. Can we therefore assume that that battle against the multinationals has been officially lost? No more picking on Future Shop, Best Buy, Old Nave, etc...? Are we now back to normal: targeting small entrepreneurs that lack resources to defend themselves? Can we assume, in line with this propagandist article, that the militant cowards have been ordered to put the focus back on the small guy?

What she is not mentioning that these atrocious French-English hybrids are a result of pressure, which in violation of 101 itself, has been put on retailers forcing them to add descriptors. "Les thés" is one such descriptor, something that a few months ago the militants were campaigning for, assuring us that this is all they want, and this is where they will stop. Are we now entering a phase where the pressure will be applied to change English banner+French descriptor into a French banner only because descriptor+name hybrids "donnent une langue bâtarde"? How about making 101 ban English trademarks altogether? Nah, that would require facing the big guy: the international business community. Quebec doesn't like facing the big guy, it much prefers to apply psychological pressure on the small guy.

More ammo for you Resident in case you need it:http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/business-leaders-slam-bill-14-1.1232217One commentator on the site says he thinks the CAQ members will only show up with enough members to let the Bill go through. OMG -I so hope the guy is wrong. ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION MR. LEGAULT: Linguistic peace and so much trouble can be avoided if you stop this Bill. I can think of nothing that takes priority over this at the present time = NOTHING!

We used to print French first, English second. As of this week, it is now ENGLISH first. This is a subtle, yet important nod Canadians that we stand against tyranny of the Quebec. A protest against Bill 14 if you will, and the forced bilingualism across Canada, which Quebec does not subscribe to.

Don't believe me? Go to your local supermarket and see for yourself. You make my day. :)

Hey Troy - I will buy anything that is not supporting Quebec - for the past 9 months I check very carefully to ensure that I do not support this province in any way - not a great way to spend my time but I have to take action however I can to freeze these animals out of money to support their stupid policies. Even switched from Videotron to Bell because when the guy came to hook up my TV for Videotron and said in French to the guy on the phone - "Anglais" - I could hear the guy on the other end of the line say something nasty about choosing the English package. That was the end of it - I let him finish installing everything and the next day I called Bell and had them come and disconnect Videotron - gave me a little please. Damned if I'm supporting a separatist company - just another little itch I had to scratch.

I will not ever care about the quebec economy until we rid this place of every last separatist into the little piece(s) of land they will have following partition. Then I will start to buy their goods and services again - not until. Bill 14 and the election of the PQ has made me realize that quebec is finished economically and now I just want them down the drain where they should have been allowed to go a long time ago and they only survive due to the contributions of the rest of Canada. Time to end the misery and get our lives back to some normalcy. 40 years and counting of this misery - the end!

I called in to check if a piece of equipment could be registered on their network. A woman in customer service spoke to me in perfect English, but wasn't the most friendly and did not want to assist with the look-up in their database. Eventually, after 10 minutes of checking she becomes irritated (incidentally, all the time *I* was being polite and professional!) and abruptly switches into French to answer my questions. I keep speaking English, she keeps answering in French.

I asked her, "why have you switched into French?". She just keeps barking at me in French, sounding more and more agitated. Next she says, in French, I'm going to transfer you to an English agent. I told her in French, that is not necessary...I understand and speak French, I just want an answer to why you are suddenly, out of no where, refusing to address me in English. I said this is unacceptable behavior, it is rude and she has no place bringing language politics with a customer!

She starts yelling at me, and transfers me to someone else. I told the next agent what happened, he seemed pretty uncaring about it. What I should have done is reported this to a manager higher up, but I doubt anti-English sentiment and playing Quebec politics in Quebecor Inc is considered doing something wrong.

Bell is a horrible company, beyond what words can express, but at least I've never been victimized because of the language I speak. This woman was trying to put me in my place, I annoyed her and her solution was to revoke my right to be serviced in English. You can bet Videotron is on my list of companies to avoid, right along side Bell.

Just another example of how Bill 14 and the PQ are stirring things up among the general public. It's getting more and more difficult to not encounter language politics in your day to day life here in Quebec.

Exactly Apple - why do you not like Bell? I know I will NEVER EVER deal with Videotron again due to their attitude towards the English, but as far as I'm concerned, I've had no problems with Bell. And the technician from Bell that came to hook up the computer was very francophone but ran the separatists down no end while here. He even pointed out to me that the wife of Videotron owner was standing next to Marois on election night.

Cutie -- Bell is probably one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with, both from the customer service side and technical end. Their billing system is a literal nightmare, I guarantee if you use Bell, you will have constant billing errors at some point down the road. They've even openly admitted there's "glitches" with their computer billing system they've yet to resolve.

And then there's the issue of their agents. Poorly trained, misinformed, clueless and quite often rude (although agents from out west are quite friendly; unfortunately it's rare you get to speak with them). Oh, to give you a taste of what Bell is and does: I've had my phone and Internet "accidentally" pulled out *6 times* between late last year and now. Apparently it's due to a database mix up but they've still yet to figure that out. Anyone I've spoken with has had similar issues with billing or service mix ups. I kid you not, and I don't say this tongue in cheek, but the company has become a circus and I'd avoid them at all costs.

What Bell offers and when it works, works well. I just hope you never have to deal with their customer service side.

The nice thing is there are third party companies that lease either Bell or Videotron's lines. Much more affordable packages too. Some are in Ontario, others are based in Montreal.

We are kind of stuck here with a choice of Bell or Videotron, I think. Liam - do you know of any other choices for bundle packages here just in case I ever have to think of switching - Forget Videotron - never again.

Cutie -- If you're talking about telephone or Internet, there are several alternatives. Teksavvy, ElectronicBox, Primus, ColbaNet, etc. Some of these providers also offer bundles with TV service.

If it's television you're after, I personally just use a pair of old fashioned rabbit ears. In Montreal I pick up over 22 digital TV channels. Most in high definition, with better picture/sound quality than Videotron or Bell, and best of all, it's free! Lots of these stations come from the States. To supplement it, I watch free streaming TV shows and movies on Crackle that's built-in to my TV set (I'm thinking of eventually subscribing to NetFlix for $8/month, no commercials and better variety).

I certainly wouldn't pay for cable TV, it's a waste these days. And certainly not from Videotron.

Interestingly, and getting back on topic to this website, there has been talk of Quebec forming its own version of the CRTC (QRTC?). Guess what one of the first suggestions was? To switch to broadcasting in a European-type signal, which would effectively cancel out reception of neighboring over-the-air TV and radio coming from the US and other provinces!

Natrel Milk has always been either English-first or English and French on different sides of the packaging. They were just seeing if they could yank your chain and apparently they succeeded because some people replied before checking the truth.

Just so everyone’s clear, Agropur is a leader in the Canadian dairy industry and includes brands such as Sealtest, Natrel, Québon, Schroeder, Island Farms and others. Its roots go back to 1938 in Granby (long before separatists decided to start screwing up Quebec’s economy) when cooperatives were established during the Great Depression. It is a good example of the success of a Canadian company from Quebec.

no i don't agree. as they work on the economy and jobs as well. your question is flawed as it contains a false premise. if you and your favourite columnist focus exclusively on bill 14 it doesn't mean that the parti québécois also do.

@un gars bs de calgary

what's your point, mate? i should stop using a word because it's not popular in your tacky parvenu joints? wtf?!? tell me, what synonym should i use according to you?

in any case, and more generally, i think you should use your freedom of expression more wisely.

http://tinyurl.com/ch7yz8g - Bombardier is the corporate welfare bum of the Quebec landscape. Despite posting record profits in some quarters, they nonethelss put on mass layoffs and then go to the governement for more grants. On of the only reasons they keep getting these grants is because they're a homegrown entity and a source of "national pride"

http://tinyurl.com/d25d3fs - Pointeless exercise. Reminds me of how people only start working out and eating healthy after they get really sick. It's political culture that needs changing here.

http://tinyurl.com/cwoyhpw - Pure Hypocrisy from our little buddy Dudent. TweedleDum (that being Marceau) wants qualified workers from Quebec taking up these highly skilled positions yet, he wants a French-only workforce. Now... do we have the cake or eat it, that is the question.

http://tinyurl.com/cwyxwr7 - Even more hypocrisy from Dudent. On several occasions I've heard him decry the "harmful" petroleum industry. Of course, when it conveniences his cause, those dinosaur bones are quite the boon, aren't they.

Troy, I'd recommend that next time you ask your question, send it to a separatist that actually knows what the fuck he's talking about.

But then again, such a thing doesn't exist, so I guess it's a moot point, huh?

interesting that you start your rant with "Even more reason this troll is not to be acknowledged" and then acknowledge me with a "nugget by nugget" comment. but another contradiction is not going to change the big picture right?

anyways, the above links were provided to prove the pq is not pushing bill 14 "instead" of working on other things; it's doing many things concurrently. seemingly troy and anonymous were not aware of this.

now are the other things they do good or bad is another subject altogether, mate, and besides the point i am making here.

p.s. i don't recall having written that the petroleum industry was "harmful". dude stop inventing quotes. it's very bad ethics you know. cebeuq does it but i thought you were above this. aren't you?

All I can say is holy shit Troy. They really don't understand do they? Classic case of not realizing they're laughing at you and not laughing with you.

BTW, Troy, since I'm in Toronto next week, thought I'd recommend one of my favorite affordable food spots since you commented that TO is more expensive.

If you go the Kensington Market (IE; a separatists worse nightmare), on Augusta avenue, west side of the street, there is a micro-food mall there with several stands serving up South/Central American and Caribbean food. Be sure to try the Jamaican guy's jerk chicken - it's only $5 on weekdays and flat out rocks.

Sugar n' Spice has 75-cent Samosas and it you go up to Baldwin and head west towards the hospital, you'll find a restaurant called KOS. They served huge burgers for only $6.49.

As the cartoon correctly implies, people like Perrault want to clean Quebec of English, but also want more lebensraum for French in the RoC. Recently, Perrault "testified" in front of some government committee on bill 14. He was asked to explain his remarks about banning English hospitals. Applying a truly Orwellian inversion of his views, he said that hospitals should be just hospitals, not language-based hospitals, because linguistic nature of a hospital is "discriminatory". This coming from a guy who ascribes linguistic nature to everything. In his view, I suppose, it is ok to protect or promote institutions based on language if that language is French. If that language is English, the institution must be attacked on the grounds that it is "discriminatory".

I am more interested however in justifications for this blatant hypocrisy. The justification often comes in the form of officialdom. So Canada is "officially" bilingual, so it is fair to demand more French in a country where 2% of the population speaks it and noone else is even remotely interested. In Quebec, only French is "official", so languages in which scores of people are interested must be "discouraged". This "officialism" attempts to obscure the fact that it is not the hypocritical ideology that stems from officialdom, it is precisely the other way around: the ethnocentric hypocritical ideology gave rise to what is currently official. Therefore, we cannot stop pounding this ideology simply because it is official. What is official today might not be tomorrow. We just have to work at it.

Another excuse it that less English in Quebec and more French in the RoC is a "democratic" will of the Quebecois. That the will of the Quebecois should not apply outside of Quebec is an obvious logical conclusion. As for the will of the Quebecois applying in Quebec, that does hold water but we cannot let it obscure our ethical outlook. That some "majority" supports something is not grounds for legitimization of that something, especially given that majorities are always under the spell of their cultures and politcal propaganda. What should sit above any "majority" is each and everyone's ethical compass. My compass tells me that regardless of what "majority" of the Quebecois think, there are some things that I just cannot support.

Your link does bring a good point, mate.Quebec is diffrent.Take for example the headlines from Quebec and from elsewhere in Canada.Quebec is truly distinct, mate.Why do you think the article was sweet, mate?

This clearly highlights the difference in thinking between PQ/QS/FLQ Quebec and the rest of the world.

The PQ see this kind of exchange as "natural in the cicumstances". IE when confrunted with "rampant english" they must act! What if the tree's had heard the english words? The leaves will fall off and the tree will die. The natural environment is being "attacked" by english words.

The rest of the world see's this as petty divisive assholes that seek to emulate the tactics of ethnic cleansing.

Imagine going to intimidate and harass children playing because they arn;t playing in "your language". Only in "culturally distinct Quebec" is this thinking acceptable.

No interference in private activities is too much for the corrupt politicians in the PQ.

I keep saying there is a very, very real possibility of civil war with people being pushed to make a stand against bullying by the separatists. We will, more than likely, end up with troops on our streets again in the near future. People will only stand for this stuff for so long and the separatists have pushed the tolerance button too far with Bill 14. Anger is apparent everywhere.

student, doesn;t doing this violate your right to work in french environment? Did your supervisor justify the need for english in your job?

With Bill 14 you'll be able to sue blogspot for not forcing the nodogs web site to be in French. Imagine the possibilities. It's a PQ employment program as well!

Only you would try to defend the indefensible. Bombing civilians over and over in the middle of a North American city.

If only Pauline could get the charisma of Hitler you'd be able to get rid of all the damn anglo's. Assimilate, threaten or kill, it's all the same for seppies as long as no more english can be heard within "the natural boarders of Quebec".

I hope they step in long before that Liam - all it would take is one incidence for the feds react and I'm waiting for that day. I want this to be officially claimed as the National Capital Region and get rid of these nuts once and for all. I hope I live to see the day.

FROM EDCEBEUQ, You're statement, "Deny seppies their destiny for too long and they will start to bomb and maim the population again." has very good possibility of being true. Bill 101 was brought in to quell the FLQ tactics. If it's removed too quick they might start up again. I'm hoping the Liberals when they are in power will remove all the sludge but 101 would be best cut down bit by bit. With patience we'll win. Ed

No matter how useless a seppie is, the govt is always there to hand them an overpaid job. This is totally unrelated obviously to the corruption in the province or our impending bankruptcy from too many social programs.

Another example of Marois ethics. Just like setting her own husbands salary while he was handing out contracts and financing to organized crime while "head" of the union pension fund.

Seppie business logic at it's best.

http://www.cjad.com/CJADLocalNews/entry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10531885

"""A close friend of both the premier and her husband has been appointed as Investissement Québec's representative in Munich, even though he has an outstanding court case against him and the the CAQ calls him "not competent."

Cebeuq - really dude, don't waste any time on this one. We both know that if it would have been the Liberals doing this he'd be shitting blood over it.

I've said it before and I'll keep repeating it - there's no such thing as a separatist with integrity.

I mean anyone with any commonsense can see that the PQ has miserably failed mere months into their tenure.

Student is just another in a long line of sepaclones who can justify any act by the PQ and other separatist bodies.

After all, let's not forget that Student previously claimed to be "non-violent" and yet praised Paul Rose's murderous ways. Once again, if a psychotic federalist (read: Bain) would have done the same to a separatist, he'd be campaigning for the death penalty.

"Investissement quebec a Munich"???WTF?Nobody in his/her right mind would ever invest a penny in queerbec.

"I need to unneccesarily waste my money. I'll do it in quebec!!!""Plus I'll have to do business in French!!!"You'll never hear that from Germans. Wise businessmen don't do business in quebekistan. Period.

haha! you rely on one of the dude's political ennemies for info about his skills... err...

here is what legault has not told you:

he has worked at the creation of the cité du multimedia, at the sgf, upa, ftq fund and at organizing the quebec presence at the davos summit. lus he's a germanophone from alsace. and he's a communications expert, as legault revealed. what else would you expect a investissement quebec rep in germany to offer?!?

seems to me that you don't want to know stuff. this might be why you seem so out of touch resident evil.

The only company that she convinced to come in Quebec is a british film editing company that was convinced to come to Quebec to get a tax credit. The company, Framestore, will operate in english, and still can't provide a english website. Talk about respecting Bill 101. http://careers.framestore.com

I think Liam meant to say that Framestore doesn’t provide a French website for its international operations. Meanwhile, all the English-only Montreal job ads show a short video of Marois’ visit to their offices. While all the important work is being done there in English, she is the only one puttering around with “Oui, oui… merci beaucoup… “ when she’s not attempting to speak English or listening to a translator.

They are all the same folks, liberals, pq, conservatives…all full of it daily. All anti-English language bigots. The province is a cesspool of slime, sleaze, corruption…it’s the same in Ottawa, Queens Park in TO…as the French bigots spread across the country…more debt, higher taxes…French power!!!

There seems to be a higher than normal level of anger and righteous indignation among the comments today as well as condemnation of "trolls" - whatever they are. There are lots of silly comments on blogs like this but I appreciate a response that I received from Student a few weeks ago when he explained what he was doing on this blog, after I had criticized him for asking someone "what are you doing on this blog [mate]". He was correct to remind me that we are all just engaged in a disjointed dialogue, exchanging ideas, confronting each other, etc. Even that odd fellow S.R. Student is right. The internet is a vast junkyard. If you don't want to respond - don't. If you do, try and make some sense. That's all we can expect.

Re the substance of our Editor's comment, check out a very good opinion piece by Richard Pound in the April 14 Gazette , in case you missed it : "A Challenge : Let Quebec Succeed". A lot of the anger above follows what Pound is getting at - we can either let language divide us and waste our time gnashing our teeth or work together to succeed as a bi-national, multilingual society. We have to figure it out here. Some of us, particularly (in my personal view) in the anglo and allo communities and among the majority of franco -Montrealais are ahead of the curve. The PQ and airheads like Sophie Durocher (whose article in the Journal de Mtl cited by the Editor was written in 2011) are behind the curve. They may never catch up. I have very little time for them. They don't get modern Quebec and its real challenges and probably never will.

By the way, Student, I think that when Resident Evil said about 9:00 am that Kensington Market in Toronto is "every separatist's worse nightmare" He was implying that a place like Kensington, where about 20 ethnic groups are regularly doing business, in whatever language they choose to speak, with enthusiasm, is not Mario Beaulieu's vision of Montreal. Rejean Labrie of Vigile (an incoherent anglophobe/zenophobe) refers to Toronto as "l'enfer". You get the picture.

S.R, that should have been xenophobe. The z and x keys being so close, you see. But in fact zenophobe would also fit Labrie. There are no zen qualities in his diatribes.

Do you ever make a thoughtful, serious, comment in any language? Or perhaps you are studying comedy with a major in sarcasm at UQAM ? Pity. Don't be afraid to engage on a higher level. No one will bite you. They may disagree with you but words on a blog comment can't draw blood. Conquer your fear. Man up ! as we say en Anglais.

quebec separatists may have new Ally to boost their cause: Iran.Yes, Iran, an Islamic dictatorship. Maybe a new found friend for quebec. PressTV, Iran's propaganda arm just posted a less than objective news bit, positive on quebec separatism:http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/16/298694/quebec-pushes-for-separation-from-canada/----------------

For those less familiar with PressTV:"Press TV broadcasts news reports and analyses which are close to the official position of the Iranian government"More here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_TV

FROM EDThe discussions on Employment insurance being held in Ottawa has run into a snag. Other provinces say they will not deal with Quebec because Gilles Duceppe is on the Quebec panel and he has shown that he doesn't care about the ROC. Another blunder for Marois. Ed

FROM EDAt the Employment Insurance discussions being held in Ottawa, other provinces refuse to deal with Quebec because we are represented by Gilles Duceppe. They say he has proven that he doesn't care about the ROC> Ed

There is one restaurant I visited in Greenfield Park a few years ago which I think could become a successful chain outside Quebec and indeed maybe in the United States too if marketed properly. Has anybody ever eaten at "Eggsquis"?